By this point, if you’ve read up on all of my Phase 1 photography styles and practiced them for a few weeks, you should be much better at photography than you were when you first started this amazingly fulfilling journey. At this point, before we start going into more complicated styles of photography, I figured it would be a good time to really use your skills to return to a style of photography that you very well may have participated in, especially for those of you who have an Instagram or Snapchat account: Food photos!

Although food photos are pretty similar to your typical still life images, there are a few key differences. First of all, there is much less combining of elements when it comes to food photos compared to still life photos. Your main food dish or whatever you are eating is typically the only subject, although on occasion you can include some side dishes and even your drink as well.

And secondly, food photos are much more unique when you really think about it. Food is such an important part of our everyday lives and is often times connected with a particular culture, of which there are hundreds of in the world. When you add in the fact that each “chef” makes food with their own special flair (compared to an apple for a still life photo which grows more or less the same each time), you realize that there are literally hundreds of thousands of combinations when it comes to various foods that can become the subject for your photo.

Because there is so much variety in what sort of food photos you can take, plus the fact that people on Social Media actually care about what sort of photos you take of your food, makes taking photos of food less of an exercise in mastering photography and more of a practical application of photography in general. And really, what your goal should be when taking photos of food is to make it appear as delicious and appetizing as possible. Although the goal isn’t always technically to impress your friends with your snapshots of your food, in reality you can tell that you are taking a good photo when your friends on Social Media acknowledge how good the food actually looks like, and how much they want to try it themselves.

When taking photos of food, the first thing to always make sure is to not waste time taking photos of food that objectively look unappetizing. If the food looks bland in general, there is no point trying to take a picture of it, no matter how good it actually tastes in the end. However, if the food simply needs a bit of rearranging on your plate to make it look amazing, by all means do that. In fact, a big part of taking photos of food is making sure your arrangement of the food on your plate is perfectly done. In the same way that professional shapes use the plating arrangement to make their food stand out to their customers, you should do the same to make your photos of said food stand out with anyone who views it.

One great thing about taking photos of food in general is that unlike your still life photos though, you have much more free range to “play with your food”, in a literal sense. This will really tap into your creativity and help create really unique shots. For example, you can take a photo of your slice of lasagna with your fork or knife already cut into it. Or you can stick your spoon in your bowl of chili, or alternatively stick your piece of bread in the chili for a similar effect. If done properly, you could even try taking a literal bite out of whatever you are eating and take a photo like that.

This sort of free range to unleash your creativity is what I love about taking photos of your food. Although the concept is admittedly relatively simple, it still enables you to take your photography from a textbook combination of various photography techniques into more of an actual art form. And after learning about the various techniques and elements from taking still life photographs, moving on to photographs of food is the perfect next step for practicing said techniques in a way that fosters creativity.